Obama in ‘earnest’ reach-out to Muslims

PRESIDENT Barack Obama said Washington’s effort to reach out to the Muslim world was earnest and would help improve US security, although he acknowledged that there was still more work to do.

Obama arrived yesterday on a twice-postponed trip to Indonesia, the world’s most populous majority-Muslim state. Before leaving today, he plans a speech reaching out to the Muslim world that would tout Indonesia as an example of an emerging democracy and tolerant society.

“With respect to outreach to the Muslim world, I think that our efforts have been earnest and sustained,” he said at a joint news conference with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

“We don’t expect that we are going to completely eliminate some of the misunderstandings and mistrust that have developed over a long period of time, but we do think that we’re on the right path,” he said.

Obama still enjoys strong support in Indonesia, even as confidence in him has dropped in other Muslim states since he made a first major speech in Cairo in June 2009 reaching out to the Muslim world.

The long US wars in Muslim nations Afghanistan and Iraq have lost him support, and the lack of movement on peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, which has also sapped his support.

Obama described a range of efforts the United States is making to reach out to Muslims, including education and business initiatives, such as a meeting Obama hosted this year that brought Muslim entrepreneurs from around the world to Washington.

“It’s not going to eliminate or replace some tough dialogue around concrete policy issues.”

Obama was asked about one difficult policy issue at the news conference, Israel’s pushing ahead with plans to build 1,300 new apartments for Jewish families in Arab East Jerusalem, despite opposition from Palestinians.

The announcement came just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in the US looking to revive Middle East peace talks that have stalled over the issue of Jewish settlement building.

Obama hosted Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Washington in September in hopes of restarting the talks.